THE FACTS ON GREEN JOBS

Get the Facts Right: Germany has seen a Boom in Green Jobs
Arne Jungjohann, March 15, 2011 (Boll Foundation)

"The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) has recently published a new report…[claiming] clean energy technologies increase energy prices and don’t lead to a net job growth in Europe….AEI’s [The Myth of Green Jobs] has several flaws…

"…Over the last ten years, Germany has seen a boom in green jobs. More than 340,000 new jobs have been created in the renewable energy sector. By contrast, Germany’s only domestic fossil energy source, lignite coal, employs only 50,000 people along its entire supply chain…[T]he renewable industry is providing many new jobs…[On Germany,] the AEI report clearly fails…[It’s] numbers… are taken from a German report…[that assumes] a worst case scenario. Leading think tanks such as the Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW) and the Wuppertal Institut have identified implausible assumptions…[and find it] ignores the economic benefits that come with renewable energies."

A major improvement in employment (click to enlarge)

"…[The flawed German] report fails to account for PV’s ability to generate at periods of peak electricity price, and fails to take into account the grid stability benefits reported by German grid operators. With more renewable energies, fossil fired power plants can stay offline longer. This both keeps down electricity prices at the spot market and reduces imports of natural gas from Russia. In 2008, the German government reported that the Renewable Energy Act cost 4.5 billion Euros, but saved 2.7 billion Euros in fossil fuel imports and 2.9 billion Euros in avoided externality costs such as air pollution.

"…The [flawed German] report was ultimately paid for by Koch Industries. When first published in German, no sponsor was mentioned. It was only the English version that listed the Washington-based Institute for Energy Research (IER) as a sponsor. The IER gets most of its funds from Koch Industries. The authors…were trying to hide this…because even in Germany it is well known that Koch Industries finances work for the sole purpose of delaying action for clean energies and climate protection…"

A major improvement in productivity (click to enlarge)

"The EU has already committed to slashing its emissions at least by minus 25% by 2020…[for] more jobs, a greater competitiveness, and more energy independence...[Recent studies estimate] this would boost European investments, increase GDP by up to $840bn and add some 6 million jobs…

"The German renewable energy sector is seen as a key industry with economic benefits for the country across the political spectrum. All political parties…[believe it creates] more jobs, reduce[s] carbon pollution and strengthen[s] the country’s competitiveness and energy security…German engineers and technicians are working on overcoming constraints for an energy system based up to 100% on renewable power…Given the great natural resources and technological skills of [the U.S.], it can be expected that rapid renewable energy growth in the US would create similar outcomes as in Germany."